The ??? ??world watched years of toxic Trumpism come to a terrifying head Wednesday as Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a bid to undermine free and fair elections in the United States.
People have profited from fanning the flames of violence, as Nandini Jammi, who runs Check My Ads, an agency that help brands avoid supporting harmful content, pointed out on Twitter.
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Elijah Schaffer is a right-wing personality on the Glenn Beck-founded outlet BlazeTV. In a now deleted tweet Wednesday, Schaffer posted a photo he said was taken in Nancy Pelosi's office, and called the rioters "revolutionaries." Schaffer has since claimed he was not directly part of the group who stormed the Capitol, and was covering the events as a member of the press.
Schaffer commands a large audience on YouTube, both on his personal channel with approximately 350,000 followers, and on BlazeTV's channel with 1.34 million subscribers. He regularly promotes pro-Trump conspiracy theories and talking points, including challenging the legitimacy of the 2020 election. In short, he is one of the voices who has elevated and empowered the false claim of election fraud, which led to the riots Wednesday.
Jammi said that Schaffer also actively made money from YouTube advertising.
At 12:41 p.m. PT, Jammi tweeted that one such video in which he degrades Nancy Pelosi was still being monetized. That ad revenue is part of what has enabled people like Schaffer to make a living out of spreading lies and hatred.
As of this writing, YouTube appears to have demonetized Schaffer's YouTube channel. There were still some advertisements running on BlazeTV. Advertisers who had ads running on Schaffer's channel, including the meditation and mindfulness app Calm, have claimed YouTube's advertising system placed their ads on Schaffer's video, and is removing them.
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Mashable reached out to Schaffer, as well as YouTube, for more information, and will update if we hear back.
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Topics Cybersecurity YouTube Advertising Donald Trump